New traditions
Tara and Grae: “We don't want to
just sit around at home and do nothing on that night because then it seems
unfair. We started to do fun things that have nothing to do with the holiday.
Like go to a movie, go swimming, or just take off to the beach for the evening.
We still love dressing up; there's nothing wrong with that. So we do that at
other points throughout the year, such as dress-up themed parties, etc.”
Kayla and Skyler: “Two
Halloweens have passed since we made a firm decision to leave Halloween behind.
Every August when Halloween starts hitting the stores, my son can't help
but notice the scary shift in decorations occupying the store shelves. Around
this time of year, he seems to have a reoccurring dream about a witch that is
eating him. Once Halloween decorations are full force in the stores
(September), I generally just stop taking my kids on errands with me. For
TWO entire months, Halloween decor disrupts normal life in our household.
I have to take extra precautions to shield my now three children from the
scary faces that are shoved in their faces on ANY errand we might be running.
“We've
talked about Halloween at length with our oldest as much as we can (often
because he is questioning us about it), and at all times of the year - not just
when it's at its heightened season. We have talked to him about it being a
celebration that doesn't make God happy but instead makes Satan happy.
That it celebrates evil and disguises the evil for good.
“The
other day in the car, we passed by the local Halloween Boutique that appears in
August for a couple months. My oldest saw the sign and said, ‘Ew yuck!
Halloween is here!’
“Younger
brother (2 1/2) asked what Halloween was. My oldest told him, ‘We don't
celebrate Halloween because we want to do things that are pleasing to God and
do things that make him happy, and NOT things that make Satan happy, and Satan
loves Halloween.’
“I
was so proud of him for his understanding of why we don't
celebrate. Not that we are taking things and celebrations from him, not
that we don't want to have a good time, not that we want to be ‘religious’
about it, but that at the bottom line - we want to do things that are pleasing
to God and Halloween just isn't.
“So,
we are quite looking forward to our first ever All Saints Day party this year!
We can't wait to have THAT kind of celebration!”
Brian: “We tend to sway back and forth on the
issue of Halloween, and how to celebrate, or not celebrate at all. Fortunately
our kids are still young and don’t really know the difference yet. So from our
point of view, there is not any universal right and wrong here, just room for
personal convictions as led by the Holy Spirit.”
“We have decided for
these two big reasons and several other smaller ones that we’ll pass on this
holiday. Our kids can dress up in costumes any other day of the year; we treat
them with candy and dessert more than we probably should already, so they’re
far from deprived. We’re just going to sit this one out and talk about the many
other holidays instead.”
Nathan
and Sommer: “Last year we went to a
church event for Halloween. We have
explained to our children what Halloween represents and why we feel as
Christians it is not something we want to celebrate. I love how we can still
decorate for fall. We steer away from anything that represents Halloween. Beth’s
book, Taking Back October, has given
us so many other ideas for fun things to do instead. Our kids are excited to
dress up in costumes on their birthdays.
“We also went
to a party at Beth’s house last fall to celebrate All Saints’ Day. We had a
blast. Her book is filled with all sorts of ideas and fun ways our family will
use to create memories and new traditions.”
Making it redemptive
Every couple agreed about one thing. They want to address
the question of Halloween not only as a teaching opportunity with their
children, but also in redemptive ways
to their families and community. These families continue to wrestle with how that
will look each year as Halloween approaches and their children get older.
Tara
and Grae: “Our boys
are still too young to understand our reasoning in this and honestly don't even
know what Halloween is yet. But when they do, we are prepared to explain why
we've made these decisions and hope they come to the same conclusion when they
get older as well."
Brian: “Will we hand out candy as a means to get to know our
neighbors, or will we leave the porch-light dark October 31st? I’m still not
sure on that point. But celebrating the holiday of Halloween, we will not.”
Britney: “To be clear, we are not above anybody who does choose to
partake in the festivities of October 31st. We are sinners saved by
grace like any other, and have no room to be prideful about our convictions or
decisions.”
Nathan
and Sommer: “Our girls are 5 and 6.
They love Jesus with all of their hearts and understand the reason we have
decided not to celebrate Halloween any longer. We are forever grateful for Beth
standing out and writing about this subject. If she hadn't we might have
continued to celebrate such an evil day. Sadly not many people know the true
meaning behind it and I think it's important Beth is getting it out there.”
In her book, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg sums up this series perfectly. “We
should aim to obedient in all ways, but we should always aim to love, and that
sets our priorities for how we should obey…If your family celebrates holidays
with a tradition that you don’t embrace, seek to do what is loving rather than
dividing the family over it. Choose the most loving path. Jesus himself would
probably do the same things in your situation. Indeed, He is using you to do
it.”
And so, each of us must choose for ourselves – how can we
honor and love our Lord and Savior - declaring the light, life, generosity, and
truth He came to give us? Yet at the same time, how can we show love to those
around us in a way that invites them to love and honor Him too?
*If you would like to learn
more about this, I recommend Taking Back
October available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Back-October-Believers-Pursuit/dp/1502516292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440009808&sr=8-1&keywords=Taking+Back+October
#teachingkidsabouthalloween #halloweenandchristianity #raisingkidsGodsway #takingastand
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